


A Thief and a Dancer Part 5

by Astro986



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/M, Persona 5 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:14:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21668041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astro986/pseuds/Astro986
Summary: Ren and Sumire come into conflict when Akechi drops by to explain how he survived Shido’s Palace. There are a few spoilers, so think twice before reading.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Yoshizawa Kasumi, Persona 5 Protagonist/Yoshizawa Kasumi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 38





	A Thief and a Dancer Part 5

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, here it is! Part 5! You’ve probably noticed that this is much shorter than the last two fics. That’s because I didn’t want to rush things and make it kind of tedious to read.
> 
> As always, I do not own Persona 5 Royal or the characters, but the dialogue is a different story. Thank you so much for reading and enjoy!

2/5 - Wednesday - Morning

Sumire was woken up by Ren’s constant shuffling. She kind of wished that the bed was a little bigger, but it didn’t bother her too much. She got plenty of sleep last night and with the way Ren looked right now, he did as well.

Sumire couldn’t help but quietly chuckle at how funny her boyfriend looked. Ren’s head was facing the window and there was drool coming out of his mouth. Sumire decided to have a little fun by tapping Ren’s nose to wake him up. It didn’t do anything the first time, so Sumire decided to add a bit more force. 

With the second tap, Ren made a noise that sounded a mix between a snore and an agitated pig, which caused Sumire to bury her face in the pillow to stifle her laughter. As she tried her hardest not to laugh, Ren woke up. It took a minute for him to recognize his surroundings. He turned his head to the side to see Sumire, who was laying on her stomach with her buried underneath the pillow.

Ren saw this as an opportunity to have some fun of his own. Unlike Sumire, Ren was much more devious. Before he could enact his plan, Ren had to get dressed first. Once he was dressed, he snatched the blanket off of her. Sumire’s reaction was priceless.

“What the-!? Hey!” She said as she frantically covered herself with the pillow.

Ren burst out laughing at the way she reacted. She responded by throwing the pillow and tackling him. Of course, it didn’t stop Ren from laughing harder.

“Ren!” She said with a slight whine.

“Well, isn’t this a treat.” Ren said with sarcasm.

Sumire raised her eyebrow in confusion. What exactly was a treat? Ren then looked down then looked back her. Sumire reciprocated and immediately regretted it. She wasn’t dressed.

The look Sumire had on her face when she looked back at Ren was similar to a deer caught in the headlights. Of course, her trademark blush was also accompanying this look. Sumire groaned and ripped the blanket from Ren’s hands while giving him a dirty look.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you don’t pay attention.”

“Oh stop it!” Sumire said as she wrapped herself with the blanket with an annoyed tone.

“Never.” Ren said as he got up.

“I’m starving...” She said with a yawn.

“Me too. I’ll go put some coffee on.”

“Hey Ren?”

“Yeah?” 

“Umm...where are my clothes?” 

Ren blinked in response to this. He’s noticed that although Sumire is a bit of a klutz and tends to forget things, she’s very organized. In fact, she folded her clothes before being intimate with him.

“I have no idea.” Ren said plainly.

Sumire narrowed her eyes at him. She’s well aware of how playful and mischievous Ren can be. When Ryuji couldn’t find his phone at the beach, Ren told him that he didn’t know as well. This resulted in the Thieves watching the foul-mouthed blonde to frantically search the entire beach, even going so far as to dig in the sand like a dog. However, unknown to Ryuji, Ren had his phone the whole time. Everyone started laughing at him when Ren told him the truth.

“Where are they Ren?” Sumire asked.

Ren shrugged in response, which caused Sumire to take a step closer. Ren took a step back in fear.

“I didn’t take them, I swear.” Ren said with his hands up in defense.

Sumire just stepped closer still not believing him. However, when she did, she noticed that she stepped on something soft. Ren looked down to see what she was looking at and facepalmed. Her outfit was on the floor...

“Oh...found them! Sumire said cheerfully.

Ren just stared at her with an unamused look. He knew she was an airhead, but that smile she gives him is enough to keep him from saying anything else.

“Come on, get dressed. I really don’t want Sojiro coming in and finding us again.” Ren said as he walked down the stairs.

“Right...” 

While Sumire got dressed, Ren was making sure the coast was clear. He felt bad for breaking his promise to Sojiro, but as Raoul kindly implied, “ladies first”.

The coast was indeed clear as the sign was still flipped to “Closed.” Ren went behind the counter and started brewing the coffee. As he waited, Ren went to the fridge to see what he and Sumire could eat. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps coming from above. 

“Ren?” Sumire called.

“I’m over here.” 

Sumire went over to where Ren was and saw that he was gazing into the fridge. 

“Find anything?” She asked.

“Nope...” Ren said dejectedly.

To this day, Ren will never understand how Sojiro can buy so many groceries and use them all within two days. Ren shut the door to the fridge and heard Sumire groan a bit. 

“Didn’t you say Sojiro bought groceries the other day?” She asked.

“Yeah, but he used them all for curry...”

Ren and Sumire just shook their heads at the thought.

“So, last night...” Ren began.

“Yeah, that was really unexpected. Our Personas are actually a lot of fun to be with.” Sumire said with a smile.

“I never thought bourbon could burn that badly...”

Ren can still feel the burning sensation in his throat when he drank the bourbon Raoul had offered him. The mere thought of it made Ren rub his throat and instinctively drink water.

“Wait...bourbon? You were drinking?” Sumire asked with a serious tone.

Oh boy. Ren is in hot water once again.

“Uhh...not really?” He said as he poured the coffee in the mugs.

Sumire gave him a glare in response.

“You’re underage Ren! You shouldn’t be drinking!” She scolded.

“I wasn’t drinking! Raoul just offered me a sip from his flask and explained that alcohol wouldn’t effect me like it would in the real world.” 

“Ren...” Sumire said as she held the bridge of her nose in slight aggravation.

“Alright alright, I’m sorry. And why are you scolding me anyway?” 

“Because you’re reckless and don’t think sometimes.”

“By taking a sip from my Persona’s flask?” Ren asked with a bit of sarcasm.

“Yes. I’m not trying to scold you like a child, but someone needs to keep an eye on you sometimes.” Sumire said.

Ren knew Sumire had a point, even if he didn’t agree with it. Heck, even Morgana pointed out how reckless he can be. In fact, it wasn’t too long ago before the whole Takuto incident that Ren decided he was going to two Big Bang Burger challenges at once. Needless to say, it didn’t end well for Ren as he spent half the night throwing it up. Morgana felt bad for him, but he told him that it was a bad idea.

“You know, from the sound of things, you still haven’t gotten over me jumping off the MonaCopter to confront Takuto.” Ren said as he took a seat next to Sumire.

Sumire gave him a worried look.

“No, I haven’t. When we brought you home the other night, everyone was out of their minds with concern, and that’s putting it mildly.“ She said as she fidgeted with her cup.

Ren just looked toward the broken window with a guilty expression.

“Which brings me to another thing.” She said suddenly.

“What other thing?” Ren asked with a furrowed brow.

“Akechi.” Sumire said bluntly.

“What about him?”

“Well, one, you and Raoul are going to fight him, which I don’t like at all. And two, I thought the Akechi was just a fake created by Takuto. So, how’s he still here?” Sumire asked seriously.

This made Ren think. Sumire was definitely right. How is Akechi still here even though he himself knew that he wasn’t “real”? It’s not like the false reality was still intact. 

“That’s...a really good question. I didn’t think about that at all.” Ren said as he looked at his cup in contemplation.

Before Sumire could answer, a knock came from the door. Ren and Sumire turned to see who would be here so early in the morning. It was the man of honor himself; Akechi. When he got their attention, Akechi gave a slight wave and looked right at Ren, who felt a little on edge. Ren and Sumire looked at each other briefly before the former got up to open the door.

“Akechi. What are you doing here?” Ren asked.

“Good morning to you too.” Akechi responded with a snarky tone.

The tension between these two was very intense. So much so, Sumire, who was now on high alert, got up in case something happened. After staring at each other for a good minute, Akechi spoke up.

“May I come in?” He asked.

“Yeah, sure. Want some coffee?” Ren offered.

“Certainly. Thank you.” Akechi said as he placed his briefcase down on the booth’s table.

“What brings you here Akechi?” Sumire asked as she sat back down.

“To talk about how I’m still here.”

Ren and Sumire went wide eyed after hearing this. No way this was just some coincidence. How did Akechi know they were talking about him?

“We...were actually talking about that.” Ren said as he handed Akechi his coffee.

“Yes, I’m aware. I overheard you.”

“How?” Sumire asked in disbelief.

Akechi gestured toward the window with the large piece of ply wood. Ren let out an exasperated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. He forgot about how Morgana rocketed himself out the window...

“Before we continue, why is there wood covering the window?”

Sumire looked at Ren and started to giggle. Ren, on the other hand, was wishing he had more of Raoul’s bourbon. He had a very unamused expression on his face.

“Morgana thought it was a good idea to pounce at me and ended up going out the window.” Ren said after he drank some of his coffee.

Akechi was a bit perplexed by this.

“I...see...?” He said confused.

“I thought it was funny.” Sumire said.

“It was pretty funny, not gonna lie” Ren said with a chuckle.

“Right...well, moving on.” Akechi said as he changed subjects.

Sumire couldn’t believe the attitude change that Akechi had. He went from someone who was curious about things and had a fairly cheerful disposition to someone who has no sense of humor and has a rude tone.

“Sumire, could you excuse Ren and I? This is a private matter.”

Sumire looked at Ren, who reciprocated, before looking back at Akechi. She then narrowed her eyes at him.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure of what this “private matter” is.” Sumire said with a hint of anger in her voice.

“Is that so?” Akechi said mockingly.

“Yes, it’s so.”

“Alright, that’s enough. Both of you.” Ren said sternly.

Sumire and Akechi turned to look at Ren, who had the same look on his face whenever he would take charge as Joker. Even Akechi knew not to overstep that line. Ren looked back and forth at them for a few seconds before continuing.

“Now, let’s talk about how you’re still here.” Ren said as he handed Akechi his coffee.

“Yes, but before that-“

“She stays. End of story.”

Akechi stared at Ren for a moment, who still had his Joker glare. Akechi chuckled a little bit.

“This is why I respect you Ren. You’re strong, fearless, assertive and take no excuses.” Akechi said with pride.

“Perks of being a leader.” Ren said.

“Exactly.”

Sumire just watched in silence, but she noticed Ren look at her as if he was saying “don’t worry about it”. 

“Do you remember how Takuto said that I’m only hear because you wished it so?” Akechi said as he took a sip of coffee.

“Yeah.”

“Well, that wasn’t exactly correct.”

“What? Then why did you agree with it?” Ren asked.

“I needed him to believe as much. But, the truth is, I’m not some figment of his warped world.” Akechi said plainly.

“We can see that...” Sumire said with a mocking tone.

“Sumi, stop.” Ren said with a stern look.

Sumire gave him a silent apology in return. She knew that was uncalled for, but Akechi’s attitude was making her angry.

“Go on Akechi.”

“When Shido’s cognition of me appeared, you remember that I shot the emergency lockdown button to separate us and you telling me that I was a friend to you?” He asked.

“Yes. It was hard to leave you there.” Ren said painfully as he recalled the events.

“Even after I tried to kill you?” Akechi asked with curiosity.

“Even after you tried to kill me.”

“I see. Well, anyway, after that altercation, that abomination got back up. The gunshots you heard wasn’t me getting killed. It was him missing like an idiot.” Akechi said.

“How? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you made it out, but we saw you disappear from the radar. And there were so many shadows...” Ren said.

Akechi flashed a grin.

“Working with you certainly had its benefits. One of which is what ultimately kept me from dying.”

“Which is?” Ren asked.

“The grappling hook.” Akechi said as he sipped his coffee.

Ren was in disbelief. Sumire was clueless because she didn’t know what had happened in Shido’s Palace.

“But...your dot on the radar-“

“Was me leaving the palace through the app.”

Ren stared at Akechi trying to process what he just heard.

“You look surprised. You didn’t really think I’d let myself fall that easily, did you?” 

“Saying I’m surprised is an understatement Akechi.” What about the cognition?”

“Well, since Shido’s palace no longer exists, neither does he.” Akechi said with a sinister smile.

Ren actually flashed his own somewhat sinister smile. Even he liked the fact that Shido’s cognition of Akechi simply poofed out of existence. Sumire, on the other hand, was shocked to see Ren make that face. It kind of scared her.

“Akechi, you slick bastard.” Ren said with a laugh as he and Akechi high-fived each other.

“Yes, yes, I know. My greatness knows no bounds.” Akechi said jokingly.

Ren and Akechi laughed a bit before clinking their coffee mugs and downing what was left.

“What about the charges put against me?” Ren asked.

“Null and void. As are all those false accusations when you were caught back at Sae’s Palace. I personally saw to that, so you won’t have to worry about going to juvenile hall.” Akechi said reassuringly.

“Yeah, but didn’t you say that you confessed to it all and took the heat instead?” 

“I did. But when Takuto’s world collapsed, so did the people’s memory of the incident. It’s like it never happened. However, I will never forget my actions and will devote myself to helping others as a way to redeem myself. Believe me when I say it’s the least I can do.” Akechi said as he stared into his empty coffee cup.

Ren and Sumire looked at each other and then back to Akechi.

“Well, if it’s any consolation, we forgive you.” Ren said.

Akechi looked at him in shock. Why would Ren forgive someone who literally killed people for his father and tried to kill him? 

“You forgive me?” He asked.

“Yeah. Life’s too short and I think holding grudges is downright stupid. Besides, we know deep down you didn’t want to do those things. Atonement may be a long road, but it’s one worth walking. You can finally start living for yourself.” Ren said as he took all three cups and put them in the sink.

“I...see...thank you Ren.” He said with gratitude.

Ren nodded and then turned his attention to Sumire. She’s been awfully quiet and is playing with her fingers.

“You okay Sumi?” Ren asked.

Sumire looked at Ren with concern, but then shot Akechi a cold glare, which startled the young detective.

“I also forgive you Akechi, but there’s still one problem.”

“Sumi...” Ren said.

Sumire held her hand up as a way to silence Ren.

“What problem is there? We’ve had no issues.” Akechi said.

“We didn’t...until last night.” Sumire said.

Akechi turned to look at Ren in confusion, who stared back.

“Last night? What do you mean?”

“Ren and I spent time with our Persona’s last night and before we parted ways, Raoul and Ella informed us that you and Hereward wanted a rematch with him. What’s up with that? Sumire said as she confronted the detective prince.

“Ah, I see. So both of you are able to communicate with your Persona’s as well. Yes, it’s true. I want to fight Ren again and Hereward is just as eager to fight Raoul.” Akechi said as he adjusted his tie.

“We actually promised to have a rematch after we fought in Mementos.” Ren added.

Sumire looked at her boyfriend in shock. He fought Akechi before his betrayal?

“What!? You two fought before!?”

“Yup. It ended in a draw though because we were evenly matched.” Ren said as he put his hands in his pockets.

“We were evenly matched then, but is that still the case?” Akechi asked in a challenging manner.

“Guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” Ren said as he flashed his Joker grin.

Sumire was not happy, to say the least.

“Oh, I beg to differ Ren.” She said with a glare.

“Uhh...are you okay sweetheart?” He asked with concern.

“No Ren, I’m not! I told you last night that I didn’t want you fighting him and here you are with a battle-hungry look on your face.” Sumire said as she got up from her seat.

“I said I’d be careful...” Ren said sheepishly.

“It’s not a battle to the death if that’s what you’re worried about. But we are going all out in this fight.” Akechi interjected.

“Oh, I see. You won’t be fighting to the death, but you’ll go all out, which could potentially kill you anyway? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, “detective”.” Sumire said angrily.

“Sumi, you’re making too much of this. We’re not going to die.” Ren said calmly.

Sumire did not like the sound of that in the slightest. Ren kind of regretted saying those words because the look his girlfriend was giving him was not a pretty one. She looked like she was going to kill him. Even Akechi got up and backed away a bit.

“I’m making too much of this? Is that right? So, me, your girlfriend, who you’ve scared to death already when you faced that lunatic alone and only wants you safe and sound is making too much of this?” Sumire said kind of loudly.

Oh, Ren. He did it again; he made his girlfriend upset.

Sumire went upstairs to the attic rather quickly. While she was upstairs doing who knows what, Ren and Akechi looked at each other with nothing but fear in their eyes. Sumire then came rushing down the stairs with her bag on her shoulder and made her way toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Ren asked with concern.

“Some place where I won’t “make too much of this”. Have fun killing each other.” Sumire said angrily as she slammed the door behind her.

Ren and Akechi blinked in confusion as they pondered what had just transpired. Ren had never seen Sumire that angry the entire time he’s known her. 

“Well, she’s certainly a fiery one, isn’t she...” Akechi said.

“That’s one way of putting it...” Ren said as he pulled out his phone.

Ren had to make sure she was okay. He frantically opened his messages and clicked her icon. Luckily, she was the first one that popped up.

“Sumi, are you okay?” 

Ren waited a few seconds, but got no response.

“Can you at least tell me where you’re going so I know you’re safe?”

Still no answer.

“Oh boy, did I screw up...” Ren said in regret.

“Indeed. Obviously, we’ll have to schedule our duel for a later time. I must be off. Let me know when she’s calmed down and we’ll discuss it then. Take care, Ren.” Akechi said as he left money on the counter to pay for his coffee, grabbed his briefcase and left LeBlanc.

Ren was now standing in the cafè alone still trying to process what happened. It wasn’t too long before the door opened again and Sojiro, Futaba and Morgana came in. They were about to greet him when they saw the look on his face. Something was definitely wrong.

“Are you okay Ren?” Futaba asked.

“Yeah, you look like something bad happened.” Morgana added.

“Something you want to tell us?” Sojiro questioned.

“Only that I made a terrible mistake.”

**Author's Note:**

> Uh-oh, looks like Ren and Sumire had a bit of a disagreement. Do you agree with Sumire? Let me know in the comments as well as your feedback and suggestions because it’s always appreciated!
> 
> I mentioned in the comments of Part 4 about a special announcement. I’m currently working on a different story from another series. Kind of vague, but I hope it gives you something to look forward to! 
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading and I’ll see you in the next story!


End file.
